13 – Ducati have gone 13 races without a podium finish, since Valentino Rossi was 3rd at the French GP last year. This is the longest sequence of successive races for Ducati without a podium since they entered the MotoGP class at the start of 2003.

11 – On the Sunday of the race weekend in Qatar it will be exactly eleven years ago to the day that the opening race of the 2001 season took place at the Suzuka circuit, when Valentino Rossi won the 500cc race to give Honda their 500th GP win across all classes.

9 – This will be the ninth occasion that a Grand Prix event has been held at the Losail circuit and the fifth under floodlights. Yamaha and Ducati have each had three MotoGP victories at the Losail circuit. Casey Stoner’s win last year was the second MotoGP victory for Honda in Qatar.

8 – Honda riders have qualified on pole in MotoGP at the last eight successive races. This is the longest sequence of successive poles by any manufacturer in the four-stroke MotoGP era.

7 – Seven of the riders lining up for the MotoGP race at Qatar have previously won Grand Prix races at the Losail circuit: Héctor Barberá – 250cc in 2009, Álvaro Bautista – 125cc in 2006, Stefan Bradl – Moto2 in 2011, Jorge Lorenzo 250cc twice and 125cc, Mattia Pasini – 250cc in 2008, Valentino Rossi – MotoGP three times and Casey Stoner – MotoGP four times and 250cc.

5 – On the Sunday of race weekend in Qatar it will be exactly five years ago since Casey Stoner started from pole at the 2006 Qatar GP, riding a satellite Honda in only his second ever MotoGP race.

5 – Only five different riders have finished on the podium in Qatar in the MotoGP class over the last five years; Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo each four times; three times each for Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi; and a single podium for Andrea Dovizioso.

4 – Honda riders have taken the last four successive MotoGP victories. If this run is extended with a Honda victory in Qatar, it will be the longest sequence of successive Honda MotoGP wins since 2003.

3 – Casey Stoner has been on pole for the MotoGP race in Qatar for the last three years.